millerhusker

They both have fluid athleticism, great vision and a point guard's feel for the game at 6'7"-6'8". Still a good comparison, IMO.

Interesting asterisk regarding Livingston. His 15-17 foot jumper has been money for years. I think Banton can develop into a good three point shooter. The mechanics are there.

Really like the young Livingston comparison. Here's to hoping he works harder than MCW...

NBA Draft player comp: Ja Morant A true point guard who can create for himself and his teammates. Dynamic playmaker and plays with attitude. Lanky and may need to bulk up a bit. Quick first step, ball handling and court vision are high-level. Can zip accurate passes with either hand off the dribble. Will finish above the rim in transition and in the half-court. Shot is a work in progress.

I can't think of a player comp for Banton, as he is very unique. But for me, he is the most intriguing player on the roster.

NBA player comp: Donovan Mitchell 6'3 215 lb combo guard built like a big strong safety. Powerful lower body. Explosive. Will be a nightmare to defend out of PNR's in Hoiberg's offense, because he'll be a threat to stay behind the ball screen and shoot it beyond the college three point line. If they switch, he'll blow by the big. If the big backs up when he begins to attack, he'll elevate for a mid-range shot. The biggest comparison I see with Mitchell is his knack for using his body to cut off defender's angles after beating them off the dribble before finishing creatively at the rim. That's hard to teach. More of an inherent feel that some guys have.

Husker player comp: Evan Taylor with a more reliable outside shot? Elite defender and vocal leader. Solid, but not great overall offensive game.

Big Ten player comp: A taller Shep Garner Strong, physical 3 and D guard. Very quick release with NBA range. Struggled to handle the ball against pressure defense. Prone to turnovers whenever he took more than 2 or 3 dribbles (Andrew White). I see this with Donovan, the ball gets too far away from his body whenever he crosses over and/or goes left (Roby). But Garner was an excellent role player and leader.

Big Ten player comp: Roy Devyn Marble Big, long (6-6 200 lb) guard with an advanced mid-range game. Very good ball handler. Developed into a good 3 point shooter, off the dribble and spot-up. Not super explosive, but certainly athletic enough to get by defenders and finish at the rim with either hand.

Big Ten player comp: Nathan Taphorn Would come off the bench and annoy the crap out of you, because all he did was shoot threes and it seemed like he never missed. 6'8", high release and didn't need much, if any, space to get his shot off. Stand-still, spot up shooter. 47% from downtown for Northwestern's tournament team.

Big Ten player comp: Sam Thompson A tweener. Not big enough to be a post player, not enough ball skills to be a guard. Gets off the floor quick. Long and ultra-bouncy. Thompson had a couple years at Ohio State where he became a pretty good three point shooter. His athleticism, motor and ability to guard multiple positions earned him a ton of playing time for some very good Buckeye teams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fleR1ny4UJQ Player comp: Buddy Hield 6'4" strong combo guard who can score on all three levels. Comfortable going to the right or left off the dribble. Plays below the rim for the most part, isn't always pretty but he just puts the ball in the hoop. Doesn't elevate much on his shot and has an unconventional stroke, but it's a quick, repeatable release.

Big for Maryland. Their backcourt is stacked and all those freshmen showed flashes of greatness last year. They add four 4-star frontcourt players to go along with potential lottery pick Jalen Smith. Terps are gonna be tough next year.

Right, he was at the combine but didn’t participate in the scrimmages.

He was athletically a cut above the other forwards in the scrimmage, as he should have been. Zion, Rui Hachimura, DeAndre Hunter, Nasir Little, Brandon Clarke, Sekou Doumbouya, PJ Washington, Jordan Nwora are the forwards with 1st round talent in this draft class and none of them participated. Regardless, Roby is athletic enough to play in the league. My original point was that he is not special athletically relative to the guys who play his position, and that teams want to see more from him. His current draft projections parallel that thought.

Agree with most of this, but disagree that he’s a freak athlete for his position in the NBA. Yes, he has freak athleticism compared to bigs. But he’s 6’8” 215 and won’t be matched up with bigs, guys like Marc Gasol, Ayton, Drummond, etc. Joel Embiid makes Udoka Azubuike look small. Comparing him to guys his size and who play his position, we’re talking Al-Farouq Aminu, Mo Harkless, Jerami Grant, etc. Like Roby, those guys are physical and athletic freaks, have solid all-around games and can defend multiple positions. Unlike Roby, they are flat out mean and bring tenacity every night. Other players of similar size/position, but not as athletic find a niche, like being an elite 3-point shooter. I agree that a team like Golden State could be a good fit. They need role players who don’t need the ball in their hands to make an impact.

There’s no doubt Roby has more long-term potential than Petteway did. Most players who attend the combine say they get good feedback from teams and they all get positive reviews from the media. But Roby had every opportunity to shoot up draft boards with so many players not participating in the scrimmages and that did not happen. He’s projected to go in the same range as he was before the combine and isn’t meeting with any teams who have higher picks. I hope he goes in the first round, but his reputation among our fan base seems to have surpassed his abilities as a player. 6’8” guys who are long and athletic are a dime a dozen at the next level. Seems like teams want to see more from him. “Golden State came to a lot of my games — they want me to be more consistent, they want me to have good games all the time and not have a 25-point game then a two-point game.” That’s from his most recent interview with Padilla.

This is true. Petteway was early to mid second round in all of the mock drafts leading up to draft day. He did well in the shooting drills and scrimmages at the combine. Wingspan was measured at 6’11.25 and body fat percentage was one of the lowest.

Yep, Xavier Watts who goes to Omaha Burke. Dainja's skill level and polish for a high school big man is as impressive as I've ever seen on film and he plays very high level competition in high school and on the AAU circuit.

A buddy of mine who is apparently a Twitter aficionado told me... the only ‘19 recruits Fred Hoiberg followed on Twitter have all signed with Nebraska. And he only follows one ‘20 recruit: Dain Dainja ?

Committed to South Dakota State. Good landing spot for him and good pickup for the Jackrabbits. It’ll be fun to watch Wingett and Scheierman play together.

https://www.d1circuit.com/news_article/show/1021088 That's big time

Wouldn't say he absolutely should go. If a team tells him they're going to draft him in the 1st round, he should go. Or if a teams tells him they'll take him in the 2nd and give him a guaranteed contract. If he doesn't get that verbal guarantee from a team by next week, there's nothing wrong with him coming back for another year. Most 2nd round contracts are non-guaranteed and contingent on the player making the roster. The majority of those players don't make the roster, spend a year or two in the G-League and end up overseas. Roby could be the rare non-senior who actually improves his situation after returning for his senior year. He will be getting NBA level coaching and player development. He's young for his class (will be 21 for almost his entire senior year). Draft analysts' knock on Roby this year was lack of consistent production. His numbers would be inflated next year due to sheer increase in number of possessions and his usage rate will be just as high or higher than years past. He only has 18 credit hours left to graduate, so his workload in the classroom won't be near as much as it was his first 3 years. FWIW, I hope he gets his guaranteed contract this year. He deserves it.

Watched some 2013-14 Iowa State games this weekend. This is the team that both Fred and Doc said had National Championship potential. Shamiel Stevenson's highlights are crazy similar to how Ejim and Hogue played and he seems to be exactly what Fred wants as a versatile forward. Both of those guys were about 6-6 230. Combo forwards who played in the post and on the wing , and brought a level of physicality and toughness that those Iowa State teams needed. If Roby came back, my goodness that would be a frontcourt match made in heaven. When Ejim and/or Hogue was on the floor, the other team's big would have to guard Niang, rather than chase around Ejim/Hogue. Niang would use his perimeter skills, and quickness and creativity in the low post to score in a variety of ways around guys like Tarik Black. And on the defensive end, both of those guys had the length and strength to guard 5's, so Niang could stay out of foul trouble. Imagine Xavier Tillman having to deal with guarding Roby, but Roby having the luxury of guarding Kyle Ahrens on the other end, while Stevenson bodies up Tillman in the post. To counter those difficult matchups, teams would try going zone. Which did not work due to the Cyclone’s ball movement, fearless 3 point shooting and some beautiful set plays to attack the holes in the zone. That Iowa State team had a 7 man rotation. Maybe the one piece they were missing was a true big guy to come off the bench in certain situations. They tried to do it with Daniel Edozie, a 6-8 255 lb. bruiser, but it didn't work out. Maybe Yvan could be our rich man's Daniel Edozie... The rest of their rotation has eerily similar player types to the guys who could be in our rotation. Monte Morris (Mack), a pass first point guard with great vision. DeAndre Kane (Burke/Green/Curtis), a scoring combo guard. Matt Thomas (Kavas), the second best 3 point shooter in Iowa State history, behind Fred Hoiberg. Naz Long, a versatile shooting guard and good perimeter defender off the bench (Burke/Green/Curtis). Could be a fun year. '

“There’s no reason for me to declare without having a solid chance of making the NBA.” The wording of that is significant. Getting drafted and actually having a real chance at making the NBA are two entirely different things. Lots of second rounders, and some first rounders, never sniff an NBA roster. Tony Carr (Penn St.) left early and was a second round pick last June. By July he was already overseas and hasn’t been back since. I assumed Roby would leave regardless of where his draft projections were. Maybe not...